CenterFielder ~ Rashaan Gaulden ~ Tennessee Volunteers ~ 6006/198

Old Roles are getting dramatically transformed, and virtually every Front 7 ~ or Front 6!! ~ Defensive Job Description is transitioning into an Hybrid Role where the Defender is asked to excel in multiple Roles and in multiple Fronts.

For that reason, and in order to offer NomenClature that speaks not to archaic, obsolete "Positions", but rather to Skill Sets that accurately reflect the dynamic Changes of the 21st Century Game and the Roles they have spawned, I have undertaken to craft Terminology that is designed to break Skill Sets down as they really are.

Defensive Coordinators have, since Time Immemorial, employed highly creative terminology in devising Defenses and in designating Assignments. In that Spirit, I have admittedly indulged myself considerably in devising the following NomenClature. It is undeniably colorful, but I like to think that there's an underlying Logic, as well:

CenterFielders ~ This is my term for "Free Safeties", as I find the application of the term "Safety" ~ a limp, lame term, to put it kindly ~ to be an Asinine Appellation for a Gladiator. The Prototype would be about 5110/200 or so.

CenterFielders are indeed the Last Line of Defense. But I sense that with the increasing Hybridization of Skill Sets in the Years to come, it will be advantageous for Teams to seek CenterFielders who can not only act as a Reserve Defender in Support of their CornerBacks, but who can ~ at a moment's notice, if need be ~ flip into Direct Coverage.

CenterFielders, like RoverBacks and Gryphons, are Hybrids, tasked both with Pass Coverage and Run Defense. Unlike Rovers and Gryphons, however, CenterFielders are expected to prioritize Pass Defense. As such, I'll be breaking my Evaluations down along the same lines as with the others, but with a decidedly divergent Emphasis:

Agility: 50. As horrific as his Combine Numbers were, he exhibits mediocre Fluidity but excellent Acceleration on Tape.

Processing Speed: 50. Outstanding Processing Speed, per se, but shaky Diagnostic Acuity, which is to say that I introduced Processing Speed into the FootBall Lexicon many Years ago from the Information Technology World with the implied understanding that, as with Data Processors, diagnostic success was taken more or less as a given, though making allowances of course for the fact that software should be expected to be flawless, whereas even the smartest people sometimes make mistakes...But Gaulden is one who makes a lot'f'm, deciding, at times, too quickly.

Red Flag Bonus: He's 23 and turns 24 in January. That not only snips a Year or two off'f'is Prime Time Years, for the Team that drafts'm, but also imposes a discount, so to speak, on his Tape, as ~ SEC or not ~ he was playing against Players generally a couple Years younger than'm, which, at that age, is an enormous Advantage.

Rashaan Gaulden ~ Prospectus

Rashaan Gaulden is an easy Player to like. His Energy is consistently intense.

There's no particular aspect of his Game to hang one's hat on, though. He played Slot Corner at Tennessee, but lacks the Fluidity to compete, there, I think, yet also lacks the Long Speed to excel as a CornerBack. He's too gangly to play RoverBack, either, despite his excellent Run Defense...so that leaves CenterFielder, I think.

And neither is he custom-built for CenterFielder!! Inconsistently accurate Diagnostics are a major Red Flag for a prospective CenterFielder, and his Agility doesn't exactly jump out and bite you...But it seems to me to be his best fit. Specifically, Guadlen is probably best suited as a 2nd CenterFielder in a Cover 2 or Cover 4, where his average Agility wouldn't necessarily cripple his Team's Pass Coverage, while affording him Run Defense responsibilities ~ less than those'f a RoverBack but more than that'f a CenterFielder ~ that would actually be perfect for his particular skill level.

So there it is. I believe that Gaulden matches up well neither as a CornerBack nor as a Slot Corner, nor as a RoverBack, nor even as a classic CenterFielder...But in a 2 Deep Format, where his responsibilities are somewhere between those'f a CenterFielder and a RoverBack...he could excel, if we can get Gaulden into that kind of configuration.

He's raw...And he definitely needs to switch to Faux Joe...but his Drive is crystal clear.

Ceiling? Warrior. 2nd Rounder.

Floor? Contender. 5th Rounder.

Risk/Reward Ratio? 2 to 1 in his favor.

Thank you so very much, Draft BreakDown, without whom my Work would be virtually impossible.​

Yank Rank: Contender ~ Par Value

Market Value

#85

Yankee Grade

3rd/4th Round

Please do Note, Fellow FootBall Fiends: This and all CyberScouting Reports issued by this Site are produced by a ludicrously unqualified Amateur, privy to not even the tiniest fraction of Coach's Tape, Scouting Expertise, Face to Face Interviewing, Experience, or Inside Information enjoyed by the Professionals. As such, anything put forth is certainly misinformed, euphonious, derivative Tripe, and should be rejected out'f hand and indeed shunned by all men and women with even reasonable levels of intelligence or Good Will!! I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and Intelligence and Drive, and I'm trying to do so based almost entirely on a fascinating fusion of Tape, Combine Numbers, and Pro Days, while trying to attenuate my findings based on making Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!

Please also note, Fellow FootBall Fiends: These CyberScouting Reports are not intended as predictions of success or failure, but as assessments ~ ludicrously amateurish assessments ~ of potential success. FootBall is a rough and often unfair business, and many a worthy Prospect has fallen far short of his potential, sometimes not because of his own failings, but because of those of coaching, scheme, timing...or because huge investments were made on other Prospects.

In other words: If any of my Super Dooper Deeper Sleepers ever fail to fulfill their vast potential, I’m confident that it goes without saying that it wasn’t their fault…or mine!!...Yes, I think that I'm being funny.